Mostly Trev listened to reports on the fighting over the radio. There were a few spots where the blockheads threatened to break through, like on the forested slope south of the main canyon, where Matt’s squad patrolled during the day. Trev didn’t know who was over there now, a few squads of volunteers, but they were having some trouble. The main canyon itself was also having trouble, mostly because it was where the largest number of blockheads were trying to push through.
He also had to listen to casualty reports and calls for medics. The blockheads were definitely getting the worst of this attack, but it wasn’t all one-sided. Especially with the volunteer squads that didn’t have night vision. They might’ve been behind cover in emplacements for the most part, but they still had way more guns pointed at them than they could point at the enemies. And since both sides were essentially shooting blind, the casualty rate would overwhelmingly favor the side with superior numbers.
And the enemy got lucky even with the Marines. Williams called in a few casualties, and at one point Davis radioed main camp to let them know to expect wounded from him. And to Trev’s dismay Matt radioed in to frantically report that Tony, one of the Russo brothers, had taken a bullet to the head and was unresponsive.
Much as he wanted to be hope for the best, the rational side of him couldn’t help but think that unresponsive was his friend’s way of being hopeful, and really meant dead. Especially when Davis specifically asked if he needed to send a medic out, and Matt reluctantly replied in the negative. Trev bowed his head for a moment in grief, then passed on the grim news to Tom and Mason.
It was well after the promised half hour before the sergeant finally had good news for them. “Sit tight, everyone, reinforcements are here. Two hundred of our friends from the Army. In a few minutes they’ll have their assignments, then they’ll move out to relieve our people at every position. They’ve also kindly offered to stay the night so we can sort out the damage to our camp, see to our wounded, get everyone moved to a more safe location, and get some proper sleep. That last is important, because we’re expected to resume our duties in the morning.”
Trev felt like cheering, and Graham actually did.
The blockhead attack had been winding down for a while now. They’d fully committed to it, and had taken heavy losses testing defenses that were obviously stouter than they’d expected. Furthermore the helicopter, their most dangerous weapon, hadn’t returned to cause any more trouble. Maybe they feared risking it once the enemy was alerted, after how many near misses it had endured.
It took about twenty minutes for the Army troops to get people up to the ridge 2nd Squad was on. During that time they’d listened as the gunfire petered out, with reports of enemy troops doing their best to safely disengage all along the line. Davis and his fighters didn’t make it easy for them, and they lost more troops on the retreat, but eventually the enemy was gone.
The two squads of soldiers who replaced them didn’t have much in the way of night vision, but they were disciplined and obviously knew how to move and fight in the dark. Trev watched them pick their way down the same slope his team had come down, while Graham went to greet them and guide them through the trees.
In the meantime Williams was gathering his people to get them ready to move out, obviously relieved at the shift change. Trev’s team held their position, even though they hadn’t fired a shot in over a half hour, until half a dozen stony-faced soldiers came to take over the emplacement.
He overheard a bit of banter between the Marines and the Army reinforcements, mostly the Army guys grousing about being sent out in the middle of the night to cover their butts. But from the sounds of it a nighttime shift, especially one covering the tail end of an attack, was actually a change of pace for them. They’d seen fighting at their own location just about every day since the blockheads rolled in.
After a bit of orientation so the soldiers knew what to expect Williams led his squad back up the ridge, and Trev’s team fell in line at the back. The attack was over, and he was more than ready to get back to his tent and crash.
At least until he remembered that Davis wanted to move the camp into better cover in case of another aerial attack, and there still might be some stuff they needed to do to help out with the wounded. Which meant sleep would have to wait a bit longer.
In spite of the stink of fires long since put out, and the few charred patches where the major tents had been, there wasn’t much sign of the devastating helicopter attack that had started the chaos. At least until Trev saw the area where the victims of the attack had been dragged.
Fourteen people, and that was just the bodies. Possibly not even all of them, if the other units hadn’t had a chance to bring back those killed in the ground attack. From the sound of it Davis’s medics were dealing with at least twice that many wounded. Objectively it was a crushing victory against the blockheads, but every loss counted when they were so seriously outnumbered.
And personally a lot of good people had died tonight, including Tony Russo. A lot of friends and family left grieving loved ones. Trev didn’t envy Matt the task of radioing the loss back to the refuge, assuming Tony’s brother John didn’t want to personally call it in to their family.
Speaking of which, the two Aspen Hill squads had already returned to camp. They were gathered with dozens of other volunteers, all standing in front of four school buses incongruously parked on the road just northwest of the closest tents. The vehicles the two hundred Army soldiers who’d come to help them had brought, he assumed.
Trev barely had time to rejoin his squad and reassure himself that they were all okay before Davis trotted up, leading a couple of his Marines. “All right, everyone!” he bellowed. The conversation died, and the volunteers near Trev hurried over to gather around the sergeant.
Davis was wearing night vision gear, and he used it to look over the crowd carefully as he spoke. “I can honestly say this is one of the hairier situations I’ve been through. The enemy hit us hard tonight to see how we’d take it, and I’m proud to say you all handled it as well as could be expected. Night attacks can be as risky for the attacker as for their target, and I’m fairly confident that after this they’ll think twice about trying another one.”
A ragged cheer burst out at that, until the sergeant lifted his arms for quiet. It took longer than it should have, with the darkness making him no more than a silhouette to many in the crowd. “But this is just a small skirmish in the war, and our job isn’t close to over! If you’re injured seek the medics for treatment, but otherwise I want you to do your part moving your camp and then get what sleep you can. The civilians have already agreed to help with the wounded and cleanup, so those trained and equipped to fight will be free to rest and resume patrols and sentry duty tomorrow.”
“What about our dead?” Matt asked quietly.
The mood of the crowd immediately sobered. “We’ll bury them at dawn,” Davis replied quietly, “with full honor for their brave sacrifice. I wish we could give them more than hasty graves and our respect, but it’ll have to do. Personally my Marines plan to do better for our own the next time we’re off duty, and I’m sure many of you will want the same. Until then we have a job to do.” He abruptly raised his voice to a bark. “Get to work!”
Trev jumped slightly and immediately began gathering his squad. The rest of the crowd split off into their own squads with commendable speed, then began making for the camp. They hadn’t gone far before Davis caught up.
“Smith, over here,” the sergeant said, motioning curtly.
Trev nodded for his people to keep going and followed him off to the side a little. “What’s up?”